Talk:Northern Illinois University

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Division I status[edit]

What does this sentence mean: "NIU is one of only two public universities in Illinois that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the highest levels of all sports, Division I." By my count, there are six other public universities that compete in Division I: Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, both Southern Illinois campuses, University of Illinois Chicago, and Western Illinois. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Oscarfan (talk • contribs) 23:47, 28 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. A lot of Illinois universities play Division I athletics. NIU competes in the Mid-American Conference for every sport, except men's soccer, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (same conference as ISU, SIU, and UIC). The current sentence is inaccurate and vague.

I think they meant to say, "NIU is one of only two public Division 1-A programs in Illinois", Division I-A being the highest level of college football. The public aspect seems trivial. It's an oddly specific accolade. I think it should be removed or re-written. Something along the lines of:

NIU is one of only three universities in Illinois that compete in the NCAA at the highest level of football, Division I-A (FBS)

This seems like a more concise and notable fact than the previous one (the 3rd team is NU). Do any other public Illinois universities compete entirely in Division I? If not, then it could simply read:

NIU is one of only three universities in Illinois that compete in the NCAA at the highest level of Division I for all sports

*Edits highlighted in bold

User:Rjsrygler[edit]

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Melchior2006 (talk) 08:27, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]